Firefox 24 Beta 1 reveals tear-off social windows, 'Close tabs to right' feature
Hot on the heels of its Firefox 23 FINAL release, Mozilla has launched updates to its beta and alpha channels with the launch of Firefox 24.0 Beta 1 and Firefox Aurora 25.0a2 respectively.
The biggest changes in play can be found in Firefox 24.0 Beta 1, with a number of noteworthy new features and improvements, including another update to its burgeoning social API with support for tearing off chat windows to view them in a separate, floating window.
Trim Enabler for OS X boasts redesigned interface, adds Pro-only features
Oskar Groth has released Trim Enabler 3.0, his tool for enabling Trim on non-Apple SSD drives in OS X. The latest build continues to offer this core functionality, plus redesigns the user interface and adds some minor tweaks, for free, but also incorporates a new Pro version with extra functionality including benchmarking and advanced SMART monitor that can be unlocked for $10.
The most notable change in version 3.0 is the redesigned user interface, which takes its design cues from the forthcoming iOS 7. The app also adds menu bar support, allowing it to be accessed directly from the menu bar or "torn off" and placed in a standalone window.
Paragon Partition Manager 2013 Free debuts new interface, adds Windows 8 support
Paragon Software has released a major new version of its free partitioning tool for Windows with the launch of Paragon Partition Manager 2013 Free. The new build introduces full support for Windows 8, a new user-friendly ribbon-based interface and removes the requirement for free registration.
The 2013 build also adds two new features -- including non-destructive partition conversion from NTFS -- but remains a cut-down version of the company’s more fully functional Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12.
MixBit for iPhone enters crowded social video market, claims interesting niche
YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen have launched MixBit for iPhone 1.0.3 through their company AVOS Systems. The app -- also coming to Android next month -- is aimed firmly at the social networking market, providing users with a convenient tool for constructing hour-long videos from 16-second clips that can subsequently be published on the parent Mixbit.com site or shared via popular social networks.
Mixbit.com is described as "a community of creators", according to its website, highlighting the public nature of videos uploaded to it. All shared videos become public domain, allowing other users to easily embed all or parts of those videos into their own work.
Connectify Lite sports new look, adds random password generator
Virtual router Connectify Lite 6.0 has been released, boasting a redesigned look, more flexible user interface and new menu bar alongside a random password generator.
Connectify makes it possible for users to turn their computer’s network connection -- wired or wireless -- into a personal Wi-Fi hotspot through their PC’s wireless network adapter. There is also a Pro version with enhanced and exclusive features not found in the free build.
Skype for Windows Phone adds People List Filter, improves Home Screen
Microsoft has released Skype for Windows Phone 2.9, an update to its popular video and audio messaging tool for Windows Phone users. Version 2.9 ships with two notable changes, an improved Home Screen and new People List Filter.
The People List Filter has been implemented as a direct result of user feedback, with Microsoft responding to user wishes to have the option of splitting Windows Phone contacts from Skype contacts in the Skype People List.
Firefox 23 enables mixed content blocking, consolidates search settings
Mozilla has released Firefox 23.0 FINAL, the latest version of its open-source, cross-platform browser for Windows, Mac and Linux. The new build’s main highlight is the implementation of mixed-content blocking for improved security, but it also comes with a host of minor changes, including one that has already provoked a negative response from power users.
The controversial change is the consolidation of search default preferences so both Address bar and Search bar use the same default search engine. Previously Address bar searches defaulted to Google regardless of the default provider set in the Search bar.
Find images quickly with Google Search by Image
And Google decreed, "Let there be image search, a tool whereby mortals may search for images by providing a source image". And it looked, and the tool was rather useful in its own way, but horribly awkward to use at times when you had to right-click the image, choose to copy its URL to the clipboard, switch to Google Image Search, paste the URL into the correct box and so on.
So Google said, "I can’t be faffing about like this", and its bods developed a browser extension to make the process much simpler. And so Google Search by Image for Chrome 1.5.0 and Google Search by Image for Firefox 1.1.2, were born.
WordPress improves multi-user and revision features
Bloggers rejoice: WordPress 3.6 has been released, sporting the name "Oscar" and including a number of major new features to excite users. The open-source CMS system gains new features for both users and developers, including built-in HTML5 media player and new audio/video API.
The new release is joined by a brand new theme -- Twenty Thirteen -- that provides a modern-art inspired, single-column layout that’s designed to work across mobile and desktop platforms. Sidebars and widgets have been moved into the footer, and it comes with support for Genericon font-based icons.
jAlbum fixes red-eye reduction tool, promises faster project loading
jAlbum AB has released jAlbum 11.4, a minor update of its cross-platform web album building tool. The software, available for personal use as a free, ad-supported program, resolves an issue that saw the red-eye reduction tool get broken, plus comes with the promise of faster loading times for larger projects.
This performance improvement claims "significantly faster (around 10 times)" loading of large album projects with sub-folders.
Spybot promises better performance, smoother installation
Safer Networking has announced the release of Spybot -- Search & Destroy 2.1 SR2, a minor update to its popular malware-cleaning tool. Spybot S&D comes into two flavors -- a free-for-personal use edition that concentrates on anti-spyware protection, or various paid-for versions that come with extra anti-virus protection plus additional tools.
Version 2.1 SR2 comes with few visible changes and no new features, but it does respond to user feedback in tweaking the default Internet Protection settings to provide better performance, although what security compromises have been made to achieve this aren’t made clear.
Google Drive makes setup easier for new users, adds new shortcuts
Google has released Google Drive 1.11 for Windows and Mac, a minor update to its desktop tool for accessing and synchronizing data with the online Google Drive service. The new build adds shortcuts for conveniently creating new documents, plus allows new users to choose an arbitrary name for their sync directory.
The update also comes with a number of bug fixes, including two particular issues that have plagued Mac users.
Bitdefender Safepay aims to make web browsing more secure
Renowned security expert Bitdefender has officially launched its free secure web browser for Windows users. Bitdefender Safepay 1.9 comes with the promise of a "secure hacker-proof browser", aimed at providing users with a secure tool for online banking and e-shopping.
Safepay also offers a free security audit for your PC, and offers users a paid-for upgrade whereby free Wi-Fi hotspot protection is offered to provide safe, encrypted connections even when using open, non-encrypted hotspots.
Opera Next 16 hints at new features
Norwegian browser developer Opera Software has confirmed the switch of its browser development to a rapid release cycle with the launch of Opera Next 16. The new version number comes less than a month after Opera 15 FINAL was released, which saw Opera switch from its own proprietary Presto web engine to the Blink engine used by Google Chrome.
As with all rapid release cycle updates, there are no major overhauls to be found in Opera Next 16, although a number of interesting new features have been showcased as the next iteration starts its journey towards final release.
LibreOffice adds new features, improves document compatibility
The Document Foundation has released LibreOffice 4.1 for Windows, Mac and Linux, a major new release of its open-source office suite. Comprising word processor, spreadsheet, presentations tool and database, as well as drawing and math tools, LibreOffice 4.1 has been billed "the most interoperable free office suite ever" by TDF, keen to establish itself as the most viable free alternative to Microsoft Office.
Version 4.1 not only comes with a large number of improvements in the area of document compatibility, it also ships with a number of notable new features, including support for font embedding across the suite as well as app-specific improvements like a new Photo Album feature in Impress.
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